I just got my '03 H6 VDC wagon back after it hit a deer on the front driver side. I had to get a new hood, front panel, left headlight and fog lamp. It also crushed some transmission fluid lines that run around where the deer hit it. I had to get new transmission fluid and the lines were replaced. The A/C is not working now. I had to get the R134A coolant recharged back in 03/11. Car currently has 102k miles. What should I be doing to diagnose my problem?

A front end collision with a deer probably cracked a line in the condenser which sits in front of the radiator. The condenser may need to be replaced. Have an AC shop pressurize the system and leak test it. There is a slight chance that a plug might have been disconnected and they forgot to put it back during the repair.

I checked the compressor and it will kick on when the A/C is turned on. I called the insurance company and they will get someone to look at it since it was working fine before the deer hit it. The problem is that nobody will be open until Tuesday and my insurance company is slow to get things fixed right. I am not looking forward to more mechanical issues with my car should they come up :/

I checked the compressor and it will kick on when the A/C is turned on. I called the insurance company and they will get someone to look at it since it was working fine before the deer hit it. The problem is that nobody will be open until Tuesday and my insurance company is slow to get things fixed right. I am not looking forward to more mechanical issues with my car should they come up :/

Just because the compressor kicks on doesn't mean it has sufficient freon. When I got my 2004, the compressor would kick on, but it blew hot air. Recharged it and all was well (it wasn't completely empty, but was very low). For some reason, it seems that the compressor on these must run unless it's bone dry or something...pretty peculiar...most that I've seen are more sensitive than that.

In other words, there could be a slow leak of some sort and not all of the freon could have escaped yet, meaning there would be enough to run the compressor but not enough to provide cool air.

I got the car back last week after sending it to a local collision shop. They said the main line that runs into the compressor was cracked. It makes sense since it was on the same side where the deer hit my car. It was replaced and my AC was recharged all on my insurance company's dime. Everything is back to normal for my poor car.

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